


Man Up

by mpatientdreamr



Category: Glee
Genre: Episode Tag, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-15
Updated: 2012-07-15
Packaged: 2017-11-10 00:45:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/460371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mpatientdreamr/pseuds/mpatientdreamr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Artie tries to set the record straight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man Up

**Author's Note:**

> Episode tag for 2x01, Audition.

He didn’t want to be doing this. Artie wasn’t a coward but he’d let himself get a little in over his head and he’d dragged Finn down with him. The only way to make it up to him was to talk to Coach Beiste and that was seriously the last thing Artie wanted to be doing today. Except maybe watching Tina and Mike making out. Or listening to Rachel pontificate. Okay, so it was on the list of things that Artie seriously did not want to be doing today.

But he’d taken advantage of Finn and his good nature and he just couldn’t let that stand. So he rocked his chair back and forth, waiting for Coach Beiste to come out of the Ladies’ room. He’d have gone to her office but there were steps and he didn’t want to do it in the teacher’s lounge because this was going to be embarrassing for both of them as it was.

She came out and something flickered over her face before she said gruffly, “You can’t play football.”

She started to move past and he said, rolling into her path, “I know. I do know that. I lost my head for a little while and of course it was over a girl but that’s not what matters. I got Finn in trouble. You don’t know him, so I’ll explain a couple of things. He’s a little dense. If you make something sound cool enough, he’ll trick himself into believe it’s really possible.”

“Sounds like he’s taken a few too many tackles without a helmet,” Coach Beiste said, crossing her arms. She wasn’t leaving, though, and she didn’t look like she was going to take a swing at him.

“And he’s got a huge heart,” Artie continued, pushing up his glass. “He does the best he can for the guys on the football team and the kids in Glee. He’s just generally a really nice guy. And I took advantage of that because I was desperate to get my girlfriend back and I fooled myself into thinking the impossible was probable.”

“I’m hearin’ what you’re saying and I appreciate the effort,” Coach Beiste said carefully. “But I’m not sure I want a kid that can be misled that easily being on my football team.”

“Coach,” Artie said, maybe just a little chiding. “We’re teenagers. We’re always a little stupid.”

She snorted, but didn’t necessarily disagree with him. “Fine,” she finally said, starting to move around him. “Tell him he can try out for the team. We need a backup QB in case the new guy can’t handle the pressure.”

Relief surged up and Artie nodded. “Of course. I’ll tell him.” He waited just a second, checking to make sure they were alone in the hall and called, “Coach Beiste?” She turned and looked at him, still surprisingly patient. “Finn calls everybody ‘dude’, at least once. His girlfriend Rachel’s so tiny she could fit in his pocket and he sometimes calls her ‘dude’ when he isn’t thinking. And he called Quinn Fabray, his ex, ‘dude’ once. We’re not sure if the punch to the throat was an accident or not. We _were_ in the middle of some tricky choreography. He’s learned not to do that, though.”

She snorted, then walked away laughing. Artie sighed in relief. She hadn’t yelled at him, disregarded his attempts at reconciliation, or decided to continue punishing Finn for someone else’s failures. Things might turn out okay, after all.


End file.
